Buying an apartment, a unit or a townhouse in an owners corporation is different from buying a house on its own title. You are buying a lot, and with it a share in the building, its common areas and the decisions made about them. The rooms you walk through at the open home are only part of what you are committing to.
This guide is the starting point for our apartment and unit guides. It covers what you are buying, what an owners corporation is, what to look at in the lot and the common property, which papers to read, how new and older buildings differ, and how an independent strata and owners corporation report fits alongside your conveyancer's work. If you are weighing an apartment against a house, our guide to inspections before buying a home in Victoria covers the house side.
What are you actually buying with an apartment or unit?
In Victoria, apartments, units and many townhouses sit in a plan of subdivision. Each dwelling is a lot, and the parts that are shared, such as entries, stairs, lifts, car parks, gardens and the building's exterior, are common property. When you buy a lot, you become a member of the owners corporation that manages that common property.
That has two practical consequences. First, the condition of the building matters as much as the condition of your rooms, because repairs to common property are shared costs. Second, decisions about the building, from a leaking roof to a new intercom, are made collectively, so the way the owners corporation is run affects you long after settlement.
The boundary between your lot and the common property is set out in the plan of subdivision. It is not always where you would guess. Balconies, windows, car spaces and storage cages can sit on either side of that line depending on the plan, which is one reason the papers matter.
What is an owners corporation and why does it matter?
An owners corporation (often still called a body corporate, the older term) manages the common property of a subdivided property. Every lot owner is a member. It usually keeps records, holds meetings, collects contributions from owners, arranges insurance and maintenance, and sets rules about how the building is used.
For a buyer, the owners corporation is a source of information. Its records can show what has been discussed, planned, spent or deferred. Minutes may mention a water leak that has come up at several meetings, a repair that has been voted on but not carried out, or a dispute between owners. None of that is visible at an open home.
It is also a source of future obligations. Contributions, levies and rules generally follow the lot. Your conveyancer or lawyer explains the legal and financial side; we help with the building-related side, which is what the rest of this guide is about.
What should you look at in the lot itself?
The lot is the part that becomes yours, and it deserves the same careful look as any home. At the open home, and again at an inspection, the areas that tend to tell you most are:
- Wet areas. Showers, baths, vanities and laundries are where water damage shows first. Look for soft or lifting floor finishes, stained or bubbling paint at the base of walls, and sealant that has failed.
- Ceilings and the tops of walls, especially under a balcony or a roof, for stains that suggest water entry from above.
- Windows and doors, including whether they open and close freely and whether the seals are intact.
- The balcony, terrace or courtyard, if the lot has one, for ponding water, cracked tiles, rust on balustrades and drainage that runs the wrong way.
- The car space and storage area, where they can be reached, for water, cracking and security.
An independent inspection of the lot is visual and non-invasive. Nothing is opened up, and areas that are concealed, obstructed or unsafe to reach are listed as limitations. It describes what was visible on the day; it is not a warranty or a certificate.
What can you learn from the common property?
Common property is where many of the costs of an older building sit, and it is where a careful buyer learns the most. Walk the building as well as the lot. Entries, corridors, stairwells, lifts, car parks, bin rooms, gardens and the exterior as seen from the ground can all show how the building is kept and whether water, cracking or movement is a theme.
Some signs worth noticing:
- Staining or efflorescence on corridor ceilings and car park soffits, which can point to water finding its way through slabs or planters.
- Cracking in render or brickwork, particularly where it repeats across several floors.
- Rust at balustrades, awnings and exposed steel.
- Lifts and doors that are out of service, or notices about them.
- Fire doors propped open, missing signage or stored goods in escape paths.
A strata report records visible signs of water entry, cracking or movement in the common property that could be reached on the day. Other lots, locked areas, roof areas and plant rooms usually cannot be inspected without the owners corporation's permission, and those are listed as limitations. Ask the agent early whether locked areas can be opened.
Which owners corporation papers should you read?
The papers are the second half of an apartment purchase. The ones to gather are:
- The owners corporation certificate, which your conveyancer can help you obtain.
- Recent meeting minutes, ideally covering more than one year.
- The rules of the owners corporation.
- Any maintenance plan, and any reports on the building that have been commissioned.
- Insurance details and any correspondence about claims or disputes.
Read the minutes for building-related items: leaks, cracking, cladding, lifts, roofs, balconies, fire safety and any works that have been proposed, voted on, deferred or abandoned. Then put those items beside what you saw in the building. A ceiling stain in a corridor means more when the minutes show a roof repair deferred twice.
We help you read the papers for building-related points only. The contract, the legal side of the certificate, your rights and obligations as a member, and the levies, budgets and finances are for your conveyancer, lawyer or accountant. Treat the papers and the inspection as two views of the same building.
How is a new apartment different from an older one?
A new apartment comes with its own set of questions. There is little history in the minutes because the owners corporation is new, and some defects only appear once the building has been lived in through a few seasons. The building contract and the handover process usually set out how unfinished or defective items are raised and how defects are handled afterwards.
For a new lot, an independent handover inspection before you take possession lists unfinished or defective items so you can raise them with the builder. That inspection is separate from the statutory inspections the relevant building surveyor carries out or arranges for the building permit, and it does not replace them. It is for your own information.
An older building has history, which is useful, and age, which brings maintenance. Roofs, membranes, plumbing stacks, lifts and balconies have lives, and the minutes and any maintenance plan show whether the owners corporation is planning for them. Original materials in a building from before about 1990 may also include products that may contain asbestos, which matters if you plan to renovate.
Permits are the other difference. Changes to a lot, from a new kitchen layout to enclosing a balcony, can need the owners corporation's agreement as well as a council or building permit. Our guide to which permits you need for building work in Victoria explains the planning and building permit split; in a multi-storey building, add the owners corporation to the list of people to ask first.
What inspections and reports fit an apartment purchase?
For a lot in an owners corporation, a strata report is the usual starting point. It looks at the lot, the common property you can access and the owners corporation papers you provide, with photos and a clear list of what could not be inspected. For a house or a townhouse on its own title with no owners corporation, a pre-purchase inspection is the equivalent, and it includes a look for visible signs of timber pest activity.
Some situations call for more than one look:
- Visible mould, condensation on windows or a damp smell in a sealed apartment may be worth a separate mould inspection, which looks for the likely moisture source and sets out practical next steps.
- Cracking that repeats across floors, or movement in an older building, may lead the report to recommend a structural engineer. A strata report is not an engineering assessment.
- Suspect materials in an older lot you plan to renovate can be identified in an asbestos inspection, with sampling and laboratory testing arranged where it is needed. No inspection can confirm that a building is free of asbestos materials by looking.
Every independent inspection you commission is for your own information. It is separate from any statutory inspection, and it does not replace any reports the owners corporation arranges for the building.
What do the contract and the vendor's statement cover?
A vendor's statement accompanies a sale in Victoria and contains information a buyer should read with their conveyancer or lawyer before signing. For an apartment, your conveyancer can tell you which owners corporation disclosures sit with it. They read it for the legal position: title, the plan of subdivision, easements, notices and the owners corporation's disclosures.
Timing matters. Auction purchases are generally treated differently from private sales on cooling off, so inspections, papers and legal advice usually need to happen before auction day. In a private sale, your conveyancer can advise on the cooling off rules and on whether a condition for an inspection or for the papers is possible. Either way, tell us your key dates early and we will work around them where we can.
None of our work is legal or financial advice, and a report does not advise you on whether to buy or what to pay. The decision stays yours, informed by the inspection, the papers and your advisers.
What is often missed, and what does a report not do?
Buyers tend to focus on the lot and skip the building. A few things are worth adding to the list:
- Who holds the keys to locked common areas, and whether they can be opened for an inspection.
- Which car space and storage cage belong to the lot, and whether they are on title or allocated by the owners corporation.
- Whether the lot has been renovated, and whether the owners corporation and any permits were involved.
- Short stay or rental activity in the building, and what the rules say about it.
- How the building deals with waste, deliveries and visitor parking, which the rules and minutes often reveal.
A strata report has clear edges. It is not a valuation. It cannot see into other lots or into areas that were locked, and it cannot confirm that a building is free of defects. It does not assess the owners corporation's finances, and it does not decide who is responsible for a problem; common property matters are handled through the owners corporation. Where an observation points to a wider building issue, the report can recommend a specialist.
How do you put it all together before you commit?
A practical order of work looks like this:
- Gather the papers through the agent and your conveyancer as soon as you are serious about a lot.
- Walk the building, not just the lot, at the open home, and note anything that bothers you.
- Arrange an independent strata report, and send us the papers and your notes beforehand so the inspection is set up around your questions.
- Read the report with the minutes beside it, and ask us about anything unclear.
- Take the building-related questions to the owners corporation or its manager and the agent, and the legal and financial questions to your conveyancer, lawyer or accountant.
- Decide with the full picture, within the dates your purchase sets.
For a house purchase the same discipline applies with a different toolkit, and our guide to a building and pest inspection explains what that look covers. If you are not sure whether we cover the building's suburb, check the service areas page or send the address with your enquiry and we will confirm what can be arranged.
Tell us about the apartment or unit you are considering. Send an enquiry or call 0406 194 163 and we will help with the next step.
Sources and authorities
These public sources set out the requirements this guide refers to. They are the places to confirm what applies to your purchase; we help you understand and prepare for them.
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: consumer guidance on buying a home, owners corporations and the vendor's statement in Victoria.
- Building and Plumbing Commission: Victoria's building regulator, with consumer guidance on building work, building permits and what building surveyors do.
